“I had a good laugh when I saw it last night,” Anna said with a cheeky smile. “Fans are always wanting me to hook up with the celebrities I’m photographed with. It must happen to you too?”
“God, yes,” Eden said with a laugh. “Constantly. First time I’ve been linked to a woman, though.”
“Oh, I get it from all sides.” Anna shrugged. “For a while, they thought I was hooking up with Zoe. I’ve even had questions about Kyrie. And Carlos Alito, the actor my character dated onHex High. Nothing we can do but laugh, right?”
“Exactly,” Eden agreed. “At least this is more flattering than when they invent feuds and catfights.”
“Also true.”
“Anyway, we can hardly blame them for dreaming, right? Wewouldmake a cute couple.” Eden wanted to slap a hand over her own mouth.
Anna’s eyebrows went up. “I mean, yeah, sure.”
“Except I’m straight, sorry to say.” There. She’d finally brought the conversation back to safe ground.
“Your sexuality is never something to apologize for.” There was no disappointment on Anna’s face, no hint that she harbored feelings for Eden. Which meant the fans on Twitter were off base with their “gay panic” memes.
Eden should feel relieved. Why didn’t she?
For a long moment, they just stared at each other. The conversation seemed to have stalled. Then Paris burst through the door, her arms laden with bags of takeout for today’s lunch.
“Oh my God.” Anna bounced on her toes. “You brought Honeybee!”
“What’s that?” Eden asked.
“Burgers,” Anna said. “Vegan burgers.”
Eden resisted the urge to make a face. Veggie burgers weren’t her favorite. Her opinion must have shown on her face anyway, though, because Anna laughed.
“They’re delicious, I promise,” she said.
“Kyrie convinced me to try them,” Paris said with a shrug. “I figured we needed something new in our rotation.”
“I’m sure they’re great,” Eden said, glad to be talking about burgers instead of whether she and Anna would make a cute couple.
“There’s one in there with extra pickles,” Paris told Anna, who looked elated at this news. “Kyrie said that’s your favorite.”
“I love you and Kyrie both so much right now.” Anna followed Paris to the table in back and rooted through the bags until she found the burger with extra pickles.
Eden joined them and selected a cheeseburger for herself. She and Anna took their burgers outside to the patio, where they often ate lunch together, and to Eden’s relief, the conversation flowed easily as they ate. Anna wanted to hear tales from the road, and Eden had plenty of those to share.
After lunch, Eden spent a long afternoon in rehearsal. Her thighs were already sore from yesterday’s motorcycle ride, and they were screaming at her by the time she got home that night. She took a couple of ibuprofen and soaked in a hot bath, where she found herself inexplicably wondering if#Edannawas still trending on Twitter.
Had they been trending? She wasn’t sure, but she’d definitely seen that hashtag a lot when she looked this morning. And she absolutely shouldn’t be thinking about#Edannawhile she was in the bathtub. She shouldn’t be thinking about Anna at all.
Eden closed her eyes and attempted to clear her head. Except now she was remembering the way she’d felt on the motorcycle yesterday, the arousal that had thrummed through her body while the engine hummed beneath her, her arms wrapped around Anna’s body. Was it possible ... had that been a response toAnna?
Her eyes popped open. This water was too hot.Shewas way too hot. What in the world had gotten into her tonight? Of course her response yesterday had been from the excitement of the ride, maybe even from the vibration of the engine. Not Anna. She’d let those fans on Twitter put thoughts in her head.
In a huff, Eden got out of the tub, sloshing water on the floor in the process. She wiped it up, dried off, and dressed in lounge clothes, then went in search of her Kindle. She was halfway through a very suspenseful thriller, and that was exactly what she needed to turn off the chaos in her brain.
Anna didn’t see as much of Eden after that day. On the surface, nothing had changed. Eden was just as friendly when Anna rehearsed with her, but they didn’t hang out. No more rides on Anna’s motorcycle or lunches on the patio. Ostensibly, Taylor had put an end to the patio after she’d caught several fans lurking behind the building, trying to photograph Eden, but it was more than that.
Eden had taken a definitive step back after the#Edannaincident. Either she was giving the hashtag a chance to blow over before she and Anna were photographed together again, or she’d been freaked out bythe thought that Anna might have a crush on her. That was the possibility that was keeping Anna up at night.
Either way, Eden had dropped a gauntlet by telling Anna point blank that she was straight. Anna had received the message loud and clear, and she was mortified that she might have inadvertently made Eden uncomfortable.
To compensate, Anna had been extra careful around Eden when she saw her at the studio. She kept her feelings pushed down so deep there was no way anyone could construe the way she looked at Eden as anything other than friendly. Anna had also gone barhopping with Zoe. She’d flirted with a few people and gotten a few numbers—and she’d told Eden all about it just to emphasize hownotinto her she was—but she hadn’t followed up with any of her potential dates.